Fatima Omas Abdullah wakes up every morning on the hard ground.
She has slept on bare earth for almost two years.
She lives in Adre, a small town in Chad near the Sudan border.
She fled here in April 2023 because of the terrible civil war in Sudan.
She thought she would only stay for a short time.
But now, it has been nearly two years, and she is still stuck.
“There is nothing here,” Fatima said.
She cried and shook the straw door of her small shelter.
Fatima lives in a camp called the Adre transit camp.
It is only a few hundred meters from Sudan.
Almost 250,000 people now live there.
They all ran away from the fighting in Sudan.
At first, help came from aid organizations and countries like the United States.
But now, that help is shrinking.
The aid system is starting to break down.
Many refugees are scared about what will happen next.
Under former President Trump, the U.S. cut money for foreign aid.
The U.S. stopped giving money to many United Nations programs.
These programs used to feed, treat, and shelter refugees.
In 2024, the U.S. gave $39.3 million to help refugees in Chad.
This year, it has given only about $6.8 million.
That is a huge drop.
The United Nations says they have received only 13% of the money they need to help all the refugees in Chad this year.
In Adre, the situation was already tough.
This camp was meant to be a temporary stop for people.
The plan was to move them to bigger, more stable camps deeper inside Chad.
But many Sudanese refugees do not want to leave.
Some feel hopeful because the Sudanese army has won some battles in Khartoum.
They think they might return home soon.
Others stay because they see chances to work and make money in Adre.
So, they stay.
Now, Adre is overcrowded.
Prices have gone up.
Water is scarce.
People fight over water at the few pumps set up by the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders.
These pumps cannot serve everyone.
Sometimes, people even fight with sticks and stones.
Adre used to be a small town with about 40,000 residents.
When refugees first came, local people welcomed them.
They gave them land to build small shelters.
But over time, Adre has turned into a massive, crowded city of refugees.
Now, there are markets everywhere.
Some refugees are even building multi-story houses.
They do not plan to leave anytime soon.
Sudanese run many businesses in Adre now.
They sell vegetables, fruit, clothes, and watches.
They even use Sudanese pounds to buy and sell things.
A local man, Asadiq Hamid Abdullah, owns a donkey cart.
He said, “There is respect between the communities.”
But he also said, “Food is more expensive now.”
Many Chadians are upset.
Chad is already one of the poorest countries in the world.
Nearly half the people live below the poverty line.
Since the war started, the price of water has quadrupled.
People now pay four times as much as before.
Refugees and locals fight over water daily.
Women say there are fights at the water pumps all the time.
Food aid is also running out.
The World Food Program (WFP) says they only have enough money to feed refugees in Adre until July.
U.S. aid cuts have forced them to reduce staff worldwide by 30%.
The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) has also lost 30% of its funding for eastern Chad.
A woman named Samia Ahmed lives in the camp.
She holds her 3-year-old child in her arms.
She is also pregnant with her second child.
She said she works cleaning and washing clothes.
She must do this because the food aid from WFP does not last a whole month.
“I see a gloomy future,” Samia said.
Many Sudanese refugees are trying to help each other.
They run private schools for children.
They have built their own health clinic and a women’s center.
They try their best to take care of their community.
But the local authorities and the United Nations want them to leave Adre.
There are too many people now.
There is not enough water, food, or space.
A Chadian official named Hamit Hadjer Abdullai said, “Adre has become a vast city.”
He works with Chad’s National Commission for the Reception and Reintegration of Refugees.
He said crime is rising.
There is a gang called the Colombians.
They are a Sudanese gang that scares both refugees and locals.
Some people say the gang does whatever it wants.
Authorities claim they arrested seven leaders of the gang.
But many people say the gang is still dangerous.
A UNHCR representative named Benoit Kayembe Mukendi said, “People must move.”
He said it is important for security and for the refugees’ own safety.
Local Chadians want their land back.
They are angry because their food and water are now too expensive.
Some refugees do not want to move to other camps far away.
They do not want to leave because they want to be close to Sudan.
They want to return home quickly if the war ends.
They also like the economic opportunities in Adre.
The Associated Press talked to many refugees.
Many said they were moved to other camps before but came back to Adre.
A woman named Zohal Abdullah Hamad opened a coffee stand in Adre after being moved away once.
One day, there was an argument near her shop.
Suddenly, gunfire broke out.
She was shot in her stomach.
“I became cold. I was immobile,” she said.
She cried as she told her story.
Now, she has closed her coffee business.
New refugees who arrive in Adre today do not have a chance to settle.
Local authorities immediately move them to other camps.
Every day, the UN transports about 2,000 refugees away from Adre.
There is a new camp called Tine, about 180 kilometers north of Adre.
Since late April, 46,000 people have arrived at Tine.
These people fled from Northern Darfur.
They tell horrible stories.
They talk about rape, robberies, and seeing family members shot.
The new arrivals sleep in the open desert.
They have no tents.
They use branches and pieces of cloth to make shade.
There is not enough food.
Thousands line up for small portions from community kitchens.
One UN representative, Jean Paul Habamungu Samvura, said he was shocked when he saw the crowds at Tine.
He said, “If we have another Adre here … it will be a nightmare.”
Before the war, people in Sudan lived normal lives.
They farmed, worked in shops, and went to school.
Now, they have lost everything.
Some people hope to return home soon.
But many are losing hope as the war drags on.
Children in the camps do not go to school.
Many suffer from malnutrition.
Mothers worry about their children getting sick.
Doctors Without Borders and the Red Cross try to help.
But they do not have enough supplies or staff.
The water problem is getting worse.
Women sometimes walk for hours to find water.
When they find it, they wait in long lines.
Some even fight to fill their jerry cans.
Food prices have gone up everywhere.
A small bag of rice now costs too much for most families.
Refugees depend on aid, but aid is running out.
Many people are forced to work any job they can find.
Some work on farms.
Some carry water or clean houses.
They earn just enough to buy a little food.
Young men worry about gangs and violence.
They also worry about being forced to join fighting groups.
Women fear sexual violence.
Many do not feel safe even in the camps.
The local Chadian population is tired too.
They say they can’t afford to help so many people.
Their own families are struggling.
They want their normal lives back.
The future looks very uncertain for everyone in Adre and Tine.
People like Fatima and Samia want peace more than anything.
They dream of going back to their villages in Sudan.
They want their children to go to school.
They want to farm their land again.
They want to sleep without fear.
Right now, that dream feels far away.
Aid organizations call for more international help.
They ask rich countries to give more money.
They say millions of lives depend on it.
But so far, not enough help has come.
As the money dries up, refugees face more hunger and danger.
Their shelters are weak.
Their future is uncertain.
Every day is a fight to survive.
Fatima still hopes for peace.
She hopes she can take her family home.
But today, she must wake up on the bare ground again.
She must find water and food.
She must protect her children.
She must keep waiting.
This report was produced by the editorial team at The Gazette News | Latest News In Nigeria & the World in line with our commitment to accuracy, fairness, and responsible journalism. Information in this article is based on verified sources available at the time of publication. The Gazette News | Latest News In Nigeria & the World may update the story as new facts emerge or additional context becomes available.
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